Severe weather kills 22 in Missouri, Oklahoma

Stunned survivors picked through the little that
was left of their communities Sunday after tornadoes tore across the
Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and
leaving behind a trail of destruction and stories of loss.

At
least 15 people died in southwestern Missouri. In the fading mining
town of Picher, Okla., at least six people were killed, and at least
one person died in storms in Georgia.

At least 16 people were killed on Saturday in Missouri and Oklahoma after tornadoes swept through the area, authorities in the two states said.

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region.

A tornado touched down about 5:42 p.m. in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, killing five people and heavily damaging buildings in a 20-block area, the service said.

Three more people were killed when a tornado touched down about 6 p.m. between Seneca and Neosho near the Missouri-Kansas border. Numerous injuries were reported, and U.S. 60, which runs into Interstate 44, was closed due to debris covering the road.

About 6:20 p.m., a person was killed when thunderstorms knocked a tree onto a mobile home about four miles east of Carthage, Missouri, the weather service reported. And less than an hour later, another person was killed when a tornado damaged a church and several homes and mobile homes in the area of Purdy, Missouri.

The severe weather was expected to continue overnight, moving east out of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma and into the southeastern states, the National Weather Service said.

Storms were expected to calm Sunday morning before intensifying in Georgia and the Carolinas again in the afternoon.